The present invention refers to a head for a machine tool on which an electro-spindle is mounted, and in particular it refers to a tilting head for machine tool on which an electro-spindle is mounted.
The head of a machine tool is the part where the spindle or the electro-spindle is housed, and that is a spindle containing the tool drive motor. In particular, a tilting head is a complex machine having one or two movement axes in addition to the movement axes already present in machine tools, which can, for example, be two or more.
A two-axis tilting head has a first element that rotates around a first axis convergent to the axis of the head and a second element, connected to the first element, that rotates around a second axis transversal in relation to the first axis. The electro-spindle, to which the working tool will be applied, is connected to the second element. The means of fastening to the machine tool (thrust rings) are associated to the head, which can permit the movements mentioned above, the motor members and eventual reduction gears and gears for transferring the motion. Also present are the means for the electric, hydraulic and pneumatic connections necessary for operating and controlling the tilting head.
Machine tools are well known, in particular those of large size, in which the head can be replaced to be able to connect another, automatically or semi-automatically so as to carry out working operations with different speeds and power.
In view of the state of the technique described, object of the present invention is to provide a versatile head for machine tool which also enables different types of working operations to be carried out.
In accordance with the present invention, said object is reached by means of a tilting head for machine tool comprising: a support element coupled to said tilting head; an electro-spindle; a cradle with a suitable shape for incorporating and holding said electro-spindle pivoted on said support element so that it revolves around an axis which is perpendicular to the axis of said tilting head; said electro-spindle being set up to have mechanic, electric and pneumatic connections with said cradle; wherein said connections of said electro-spindle are of the releasable type so that said electro-spindle is interchangeable and can be rapidly coupled to and uncoupled from said cradle.
Said object is also reached by means of a system of coupling and uncoupling an electro-spindle from a cradle fixed on a machine tool, shaped so as to incorporate and hold said electro-spindle; said electro-spindle being set up to have mechanic, electric, pneumatic and hydraulic connections with said cradle; wherein said connections of said electro-spindle are of the releasable type so that said electro-spindle is interchangeable and can be rapidly coupled to and uncoupled from said cradle.
Said object is also reached by means of a machine tool having a head in accordance with the present invention.
Thanks to the present invention, it is possible to make a head in which only the electro-spindle, an element of reduced size, light and low cost, can be rapidly changed. Thanks also to the fact of the lower cost of an electro-spindle compared to a head, numerous electro-spindles with different configurations and/or power can be kept available so as to permit working both with large tools at low speed for roughing and with small tools at high speed for finishing.
Thanks to the present invention, in a machine tool with tilting head the interchangeability of the spindle gives greater versatility and is carried out in a simpler way and at lower cost than that of the change of the whole head. This goes also for a machine tool without tilting head.